648 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 11, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FA EM EE'S PAPEE. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1960. 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, Hew York. 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor, 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Koylk, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8 s. Cd., or 8*2 marks, or lO^ francs. Remit in money order, 
express order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates 50 cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for time 
orders. References required for advertisers unknown to 
us; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
"A SQUARE DEAL.” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a 
responsible person. But to make doubly sure we will make good any 
loss to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler 
advertising in ourcolumns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect suberibers against rogues, but wedo not guarantee 
to adjust trifling differences between subscribers and honest, respon¬ 
sible advertisers. Neither will we be responsible for the debts of 
honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. Notice of the complaint 
must be sent to us within one month of the time of the transaction, 
and you must have mentioned The Rural New-Yorker when 
writing the advertiser. 
TEN WEEKS FOR 10 CENTS. 
In order to introduce The R. N.-Y. to progressive, 
intelligent farmers who do not now take it, we send it 
10 weeks for 10 cents for strictly introductory pur¬ 
poses. » We depend on our old friends to make this 
known to neighbors and friends. 
* 
We shall begin next week an article by D. L. 
Hartman on “Rural Education,” which we consider 
the most sensible discussion of the farm school ques¬ 
tion we have yet read. Mr. Hartman is an old 
farm school teacher and a successful farmer, and he 
reviews what has already been said on this subject in 
The R. N.-Y. There is no more important farm 
question than the future of our rural schools. 
% 
At one of the best mining schools in the country 
students are required to do actual miners’ work as a 
part of the course. They spend at least one year as a 
miner doing actual work, and the record they make as 
workmen is considered when they graduate. When 
shall we have such a system in agricultural colleges? 
Why not let the student spend one or more seasons on 
a good farm doing actual farm work? Have his 
record made up from this work as well as from his 
class-room performance. Is there anything wrong 
with the idea? 
* 
A number of people report results with lime and 
sulphur which need explanation. These people had 
heard about Summer spraying. They bought a com¬ 
mercial mixture and used it when the trees were full 
of tender growth at the Winter strength. They put 
the strong solution intended for a dormant tree on the 
young leaves, and scalded them all off. Instead of 
using one to 10 of the mixture they should have used 
one to 50. Considerable damage of this sort, will be 
done, because these fruit growers did not realize that 
the tree in foliage cannot stand as strong a wash as 
the dormant tree can. We know of some very intelli¬ 
gent men who have made this mistake. They say the 
“directions” on the package did not make this point 
clear to them. 
* 
A weld-known fruit farmer in Central New York 
tells us that last Winter he tried feeding lambs on 
cornstalks and Alfalfa hay—without any grain. This 
corn was drilled thick and grown in young orchards. 
On this diet the lambs came out in fine shape, arid are 
fully equal to grain-fed stock. All the feed they 
had was grown right on this farm. Our friend is 
not ready to give a final report yet but this experi¬ 
ence shows new possibilities for a New York fruit 
farm. By giving a fair space to Alfalfa and growing 
corn in the orchards a good supply of manure can 
be obtained and a Winter job provided. Alfalfa will 
enrich any country section or farm where it will 
grow, and each year makes it evident that it can be 
made to grow almost everywhere. 
* 
One of our readers received a printed card contain¬ 
ing the following: 
Your name having been given us as a suitable person, 
we write to inquire if you are at liberty to consider an 
offer of .$80 per month and expenses, subject to certain 
reasonable requirements which we will explain upon hear¬ 
ing from you. 
Did he bite? He did, and he used his teeth to good 
advantage. This is what he wrote: 
Globe Association : 
Chicago, Ill.: 
I received your card to-day and in reply would advise 
you to save your money and give it to the poor people 
in your city. There are no suckers in our family. We 
take The R. N.-Y., and we read it, too. c. t. s. 
Ohio. 
“No suckers in our family.” If there were more of 
such families a large army of gentlemen with “soft 
bodies and hard faces” would soon get out at work. 
The farm land boomers may shout themselves 
hoarse over the possibilities of the Far South or 
the Far West, yet a faint whisper from West Vir¬ 
ginia might have more real promise in it. Tucked 
away among the mountains east of the Ohio River, 
West Virginia has been put down by most people 
as a mining State, with not much Yvorth considering 
except coal, oil and metal. The real fact is that 
there are few places left in this country where a 
farmer of moderate means could do better than in 
parts of West Virginia. The mining and manufac¬ 
turing towns are prosperous and afford a good local 
market. We were recently told that in Clarksburg 
alone some $12,000 is paid for cream for ice cream 
making—practically all brought from Ohio. Yet good 
corn soil and pasture lands abound. Parts of the 
State are admirably adapted to apple and peach grow¬ 
ing. The fact is that the tops of the hills can be 
made even more valuable than the mines underground. 
The statement may surprise many of our readers, but 
we doubt if any other section of the country can 
offer farm possibilities quite equal to those West 
Virginia has in abundance. 
* 
It is evident that Gov. Hughes of New York felt 
the criticism, which came from friend and foe alike, 
that he had grown lukewarm in the fight for direct 
primaries. He has called an extra session of the Leg¬ 
islature, to begin June 20. He states frankly that the 
object of this special session is to force through 
some form of primary legislation which will suit the 
reformers. It is also reported that the Governor 
will go on the stump out in the rural counties and urge 
the people to compel their representatives to support a 
suitable bill. Two years ago the anti-gambling bill 
failed of passage by a tie vote. The Governor called an 
extra session and # a special election in one Senatorial 
district, and he went on the stump in that district. 
When the Legislature came back it passed the bill. 
The situation is somewhat different this year. There is 
no special election the result of which £ould settle 
the result. While a large majority of the country 
voters are in favor of primary reform, they cannot 
reach their representatives directly until the next 
election. In most cases these representatives have 
misrepresented their people. It is now simply a 
question as to whether the people will have the courage 
and the power to force these legislators to do their 
duty. If you want primary nominations now is your 
chance to prove that you will use the weapon if it is 
put in your hands. If your Senator and Representa¬ 
tive voted against the bill go right straight at them 
without the wink of an eye. Tell them that if they 
do not go hack to Albany and support the bill you 
will fight them out of political life and make a sol¬ 
emn oath by all you hold sacred that you will keep 
your \yord. Think what it will mean for New York 
farmers, for the State and for the Nation, if you can, 
through the determined power of your manhood send 
the men from your district back to Albany and make 
them do their duty. There never was just such an 
opportunity for farmers to show that this is a govern¬ 
ment by the people and for the people. And this 
special legislature meets at just the right time, for 
two days before the opening Theodore Roosevelt 
comes home! The poor little bosslettes and bossies 
who have muddied the waters will take to the woods 
before the dominant character in whom the people 
have confidence. The greatest reception committee 
you could possibly gather for Mr. Roosevelt would 
he a legislature sent hack by the plain people to do 
its duty. At them at once ! 
* 
There are many complaints this year of the treat¬ 
ment received from nurserymen and plant growers. 
Many readers ordered stock early, as they under¬ 
stood there was a shortage of plants and trees. In 
some .cases they sent money in January or Febru¬ 
ary, and secured assurance that the stock would he 
sent in time. They waited patiently and finally, get¬ 
ting nervous, began to write for an explanation. 
In some eases they were held up by promises only 
to be told later on that the supply of trees was ex¬ 
hausted and that the order could not be filled. In 
other cases the order finally came very late—not 
first-class trees, but poor little whips, like remnants 
at a bargain sale. When the orders were actually 
cancelled the buyers generally received their money 
back after some correspondence, but they have lost 
one year in their planting, for it was impossible to 
find good trees elsewhere. The facts seem to he 
that nursery stock was short, while orders were as 
heavy as usual. Some nurserymen continued to ac¬ 
cept orders long after they were sold out, expecting 
that they could buy of others. They booked the 
orders and took the money, and then tried to buy the 
stock. It could not he obtained, and instead of 
explaining the situation frankly to their customers 
and returning the money they continued to hold out 
hopes that the trees would be sent. At last when 
too late for planting, they either admitted their 
inability to ship or sent a lot of culls. We are glad 
to say that some of the best nurserymen refused to 
do business in this way. We have seen letters from 
such men written in February in which they return 
orders, stating squarely that they cannot supply cer¬ 
tain varieties. They could not have done a wiser thing, 
for in coming seasons there will be a surplus of stock 
to dispose of. In those days these honorable nur¬ 
serymen will be remembered, for there are thousands 
of disappointed customers who have written “Never 
again!” opposite the names of those who deceived 
them this year. 
* 
Last week we mentioned the fact that about 40 
people had sent us copies of various papers containing 
an article headed “Brands Burbank as a Fake.” It 
was supposed to be a report of a lecture by Prof. E. 
M. East. Those clippings continue to come. We 
think it no more than fair to say that Prof. East did 
not state that Mr. Burbank is or was a fake. The 
lecture was on the methods and scope of the plant 
breeding work now going on. Prof. East spoke of 
the quiet men who are working for the good of man¬ 
kind without advertising or “booming,” and often 
without adequate reward. He then said, and this 
seems to have sent the reporters to shouting “fake,” 
Perhaps I should take occasion to say that the public 
deserves a portion of the blame for the exploitation of 
valueless productions. For example, the white black¬ 
berry has been known for years and is entirely worthless; 
the "Wonderberry” is simply Solatium nigrum, the com¬ 
mon wild black nightshade, yet fanciful articles concern¬ 
ing them are received with greater public acclaim than 
would he given the production of a new field corn which 
would increase the yield of corn in the United States by 
3 0 per cent. An increase of 10 per cent, in the corn crop 
in the United States, however, would mean an increase of 
over $100,000,000 per annum in the wealth of the coun¬ 
try, and the individual who was responsible would deserve 
to be ranked with the greatest benefactors of the country. 
That was all there was to it, but it only goes to 
show how thoroughly this Wonderberry story has 
sunk into the public mind. Prof. East believes that 
we are at the beginning of a wonderful development 
of experimental biology—even more wonderful than 
that of chemistry during the last century. 
The picture on the first page shows a hay field with 
the grass bunching up in a way to please a farmer. 
If the present wet weather continues haying will prove 
a nightmare on most farms. A good way to soak the 
spirits out of a man is to make him stand up and 
watch shower after shower run through the hay in 
the field. As there will be very little poetry about 
haying this year we should get ready for the prose. 
The wind rather than the sun “cures” the hay or 
takes the moisture out of grass. This moisture 
naturally passes away through the leaves much faster 
than through the stem. When these leaves are dried 
to a crisp they cannot evaporate water. Therefore, 
especially with clover and large leaved plants, we 
should keep these leaves green as long as possible, as 
then the plant will help cure itself. That is one rea¬ 
son why clover, Alfalfa, oats and peas and similar 
crops make the best hay when thrown into loose cocks. 
The leaves will slowly suck the moisture from the 
stems and the wind blows this “sweat” out of the 
cock. In wet weather a hay cap like those shown 
in the Alfalfa picture will often keep the rain from 
soaking down through the cock while this sweating 
is going on under the cap. Sometimes right after 
a shower the hay cock can he opened up and shaken 
out to the wind and then thrown together and capped 
before it is wet again. In spite of all we can do 
clover hay often loses its color through long wetting. 
We have put it in the barn nearly as black as ceal, 
yet by using salt, scattered over it as put in the mow, 
the hay kept well and was relished by the stock. If 
this wet weather continues many farmers will cut 
the damp clover into the silo. We shall try to cure 
our own crop under caps in the cock and expect to 
put it in the barn so it will all be eaten. 
BREVITIES. 
The concrete spraying tank (page G43) looks right. 
The Chemung Valley 'Fruit Growers’ Association at 
Elmira, N. Y., is the latest. 
Time to begin thinking of the “cover crop.” Crimson 
clover and turnips cover well for us. 
You will find few crops better than good corn fodder 
for providing roughage for any kind of stock. 
It seems that shellac is used in coating cheap chocolate 
candy. Who wants to varnish his stomach? 
The Roine Beauty Growers’ Association is the latest in 
Southern Ohio. They will handle fancy apples. It all 
goes to show what fruit growers are doing or thinking of 
doing. 
About the worst abuse of the franking privilege we 
have yet heard of is a letter from a Texas Congressman 
with documents urging us to attack the honest butter 
proposition and urge the repeal of the oleo tax. All this 
stuff is “franked,” or sent without payment of any post¬ 
age ! 
